Laberint d'Horta

By Alicia Queiro

There’s nothing quite like that feeling of smug­ness you get when you know about something that not many others do. That’s the sensation I enjoyed when a wise friend coaxed me to the end of Línea 3, takeaway sandwich and bag of Ruffles in hand, to Barcelona’s oldest park.

The Parc del Laberint d’Horta (Horta Labyrinth Park), nearest Metro stop Mundet, dwells off the beaten track, and a tourist haunt it is not. In fact, the powers that be charge an (albeit modest) entrance fee – an entrance fee! to a park! – and only let in 750 visi­tors a day, many of them couples who sit shyly on benches watching fat orange fish swim languidly around inky green ponds.

Once you’ve had your fill of the tinkly fountains and Moorish architec­ture, you can dip into the maze. But remember: though it may look benign, nothing hurts more than being outsmarted by vegetation.